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Though previous ground-based observations suggested that Xena was about
30 percent greater in diameter than Pluto, Hubble observations taken on
Dec. 9 and 10, 2005, yield a diameter of 1,490 miles (with an uncertainty
of 60 miles) for Xena. Pluto's diameter, as measured by Hubble, is 1,422
miles.

"Hubble is the only telescope capable of getting a clean visible-light
measurement of the actual diameter of Xena," said Mike Brown, planetary
scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.
Brown's research team discovered Xena, and their results have been
accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

It only required a couple of Hubble images to nail Xena's diameter.
Located 10 billion miles away, but with a diameter that is a little more
than half the width of the United States, the object is 1.5 pixels across in Hubble's view. That's enough to precisely make a size
measurement.

Because Xena is smaller than earlier thought, but comparatively bright,
it must be one of the most reflective objects in the solar system. The
only object more reflective is Enceladus, a geologically active moon of
Saturn whose surface is continuously recoated with highly reflective ice
by active geysers.

Xena's bright reflectivity is possibly due to fresh methane frost
overlying the surface. It is possible that Xena had an atmosphere when
it was closer to the Sun, but "froze out" at its current large distance,
and material settled on its surface as frost.

Another possibility is that Xena is also continuously leaking methane
gas from its warmer interior. When this methane makes it to the cold
surface it immediately freezes solid, covering craters and other
features to make this Kuiper Belt object (KBO) uniformly bright to
Hubble's telescopic eye.

This is an illustration of the largest known Kuiper Belt objects. "Xena," officially catalogued at 2003 UB313, is slightly larger than Pluto. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)

Xena is officially catalogued as 2003 UB313. Its orbital period is about
560 years, and the KBO is now very close to aphelion (the point on its
orbit that is farthest from the Sun).

Brown next plans to use Hubble and other telescopes to study other
recently discovered KBOs that are almost as large as Pluto and Xena. The
Kuiper Belt is a vast ring of primordial icy comets and larger bodies
encircling Neptune's orbit.

Finding that the largest known KBO is a virtual twin to Pluto may only
further complicate the debate about whether to categorize the large icy
worlds that dwell in the Kuiper Belt as planets. If Pluto were
considered to be the minimum size for a planet, then Xena would fulfill
this criterion, too.